Wading River News: Eric Lopez sings on ‘American Idol’

Hibernation, what a great idea. There’s nothing like missing all the difficulties that winter poses, like freezing rain, blizzards, icy roads, and now the threat of over 30 inches of snow. The bears have the right idea! I wish I could join them because the thought of sleeping through all this mess is mighty appealing. It’s late January and we have about five more weeks until we start seeing a positive change in the weather, so keep your chin up as you bundle up!

Wading River resident Eric Lopez, 20, appeared recently on “American Idol.” He sang a song from Queen and got an OK from Harry Connick Jr. and an “I don’t think you fit” from Jennifer Lopez. When Adam Lambert declined to give him the go-ahead to move on to the Hollywood round, Eric turned on the “gift of persuasion.” His Facebook page shows him giving Adam a very large Cheshire Cat-like “Pleeeeeeeeeze” to win him over. Eric also pleaded by saying “I can do opera, I can do pop, I can do it all.” Well it worked; he has moved on to the next round! I’ve asked Eric to keep us posted. Good luck, Eric.

Mike Wiwczar of Wading River lost a good friend when he heard of the tragic news that his co-worker George, a barber in Rocky Point, had passed away. Mike enjoyed the 31 years he worked next to his kind friend. “George was really good to know and almost never had a bad word to say about anybody,” Mike said. Mike’s son, Don, sent some insightful words to his dad, reminiscing about family camping trips in Maine that George made possible by offering them a place to stay. Thanks for your memorable words, Don, and thank you, Mike, for sharing your feelings and memories of George. I speak from experience when I say that you could not have grown up in Rocky Point without crossing paths with this very nice man.

Try to keep warm and safe and we’ll meet back here in two weeks.

Contact Wading River columnist Elizabeth Taggart at [email protected] or 929-5933.